Fico will not have any kind of communication with these media until they fulfill their obligations, the Administration Office said in a press release.

The restriction affects the commercial television channel Markíza, the most watched in the country; the newspaper Deník SME, and the digital investigative websites Aktuality and Denník N, which are critical of the previous governments.

The nationalist leader returned to power after winning the legislative elections in late September.

Since the first hours of the constitution of the new Government, these media outlets ‘have not fulfilled their obligation to inform society truthfully, impartially and on time,’ Fico denounced.

The SME daily, in turn, accused the head of Government of ‘legitimizing his attacks from his position as prime minister,’ and announced that it is studying with its lawyers the steps ‘to defend freedom of the press in Slovakia.’

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